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George David Merrill (1861-1924)
}} GEORGE DAVID MERRILL was born 25 Jul 1861 in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, and died 05 May 1924 in Lakeport, NH. He married MARY BIRD 25 Feb 1883 in Meredith, New Hampshire, daughter of THOMAS BIRD and MARY UNKNOWN. She was born 03 May 1862 in Isle of Malta, British Province, and died 26 Jun 1925 in Lakeport, NH. According to Frank Desmond on Aug 22, 1999, the spelling of Mary's last name may have been Byrd from the Island of Malta, but all records at the State of New Hampshire Vital Records Office show George D. Merrill's wife was Mary Bird from the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. Her mother was of Irish birth and worked in England for royalty. When she married an English soldier who was stationed on Malta (probably during the Napoleonic war) her family disowned her. After her soldier husband died or was killed, Mary emigrated to New Brunswick and (we think) remarried a boot maker. Then she emigrated to New Hampshire in 1881 according to the 1900 US Census. Her third husband was George Merrill. George was a deacon and member of Freewill Baptist Church, Meredith, NH. Mary was a member of Freewill Baptist Church, Meredith, NH. Emigration: 1881, New Brunswick, Canada Mary Bird and George Merrill were married on February 25, 1883, by Justus Erskin of Meredith, Minister of the Gospel in Meredith, NH, reported at Center Harbor, NH. When George and Mary Merrill bought land behind the Mail Dock in 1906, they began the saga of the Merrill family on Bear Island, Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. In addition to building many of the cottages on the island, George Merrill also provided food, ice and boat services to several generations of island residents. As the only house on the island with plaster and wallpapered walls, the Merrills' was unique. According to their granddaughter, Mildred Fay Rand, "A well and pump graced the side yard in the center of Hattie's flower beds and people came from along the shore with their jugs to pump water. The playroom was on the third floor. The property next door was the 'Men's Camp.' The workmen employed by my grandfather in his carpentry business lived there and cooked their meals, though occasionally Hattie prepared food for them in her kitchen. The haying field was behind the hen house and vegetable garden. Cattle were brought over by barge from Lovejoy Sands in the spring and taken back in the fall. Milk cost 18 cents a quart, but you had to buy ice and groceries to get it!" About halfway down the shore lived Dr. George Saltmarch of Lakeport, who was Mary's doctor. Molly Worden from Pine Island, just a stone's throw away, was her midwife. Molly assisted Mary when all nine Merrill babies were born; only one did not live. Arthur was the eldest, then Hattie, Gertrude, Fred, David, Edgar, Helen, and Nellie. All grew up helping with chores, and George taught his carpentry skills to each of his sons who helped him in the business. WW 1 interrupted the family enterprise when David and Fred were inducted into the Army. David was never sent overseas, but Fred served in observation balloons over the English Channel. He was once shot down, but not seriously injured. Both returned home to help their father, and in time, David married Faith Unknown and daughter Hattie married Park Fay. Over the years, the Merrills built a number of houses on the west shore of Bear Island, each with the same basic simple design. These cottages are still recognizable today, even though various owners have made different additions. In 1927, Fred Merrill built the Bulkley house, which had the distinction of being the first on Bear Island to have had indoor plumbing. When you needed a cabin, dock or boat house, you simply told Fred of your desire and he obliged. In 1931, Dr. John Merselis commissioned Fred to build on land he had purchased in 1923. Sketching what he had in mind on the back of an ordinary envelope, Dr. Merselis gave it to Fred that fall. When the family returned the following spring, the cabin was ready for occupancy, and they have summered there ever since. In addition to building houses, the Merrills supplied much that was necessary for island living. Dave, the meat cutter, minded the grocery store that they opened at the Mail Dock and Fred, the mechanic, assumed responsibility for kerosene for lamps, and gasoline for boats, as well as maintenance of rental boats berthed in a nest of boat houses by their dock. These boats all had two cylinder McDuff engines with petcocks on top which had to be primed with gasoline. The flywheel rotated by hand at times could be very balky. Fred was an expert in starting these engines. He'd lean against the side of the boat, give the flywheel a gentle roll with his foot__and away it went. At the time Fred Merrill had the ice route, the Bear Island postmaster was Adelaide Brown. References * George Merrill - GENI * Shared Ancestry of Meghan Markle - AmericanAncestors.org